About Me
‘Be careful what you set your heart upon, for it will surely be yours’, the James Baldwin credence to the old cliché that if you want something bad enough, it really can happen has special significance for Ricardo da Costa, who at 26, has been perfecting the nuances of his craft for the past 9 years. A far cry from a start equipped with no more than a smattering of vinyl & his trusty, steel twins, the foundation of Ricardo’s professional DJ career, his self taught mastery of dance floor devastation, was laid by unrelenting tenacity & a diligent work ethic. Widely admired & highly respected, Ricardo is regarded as one of South Africa’s most skilful mix masters by players & colleagues in the industry but more importantly ‘down & dirty’ on every dance floor, in every nightclub, where it truly counts!!
Every DJ is mindfully aware of being only as good as his last set. Yet, Ricardo never fails to prove his worth! Time & again, he is relied upon to provide a roof ripping performance that is technically flawless, quality consistent & crowd-pleasing!! Securing street-cred & respect from the dance underground is a daunting task for any DJ. To acquire & maintain a rep of Ricardo’s calibre is virtually unheard of. His impeccable track record & faultless reputation is the hard earned result of steadfast professionalism & integrity. Ricardo’s always affable exterior belies a wickedly sarcastic sense of humour, virtuous sense of purpose & conscience & an ever-present optimistic vitality. Unassuming & refreshingly unaffected, he is an inspiring presence in an industry where money & ego is God. Purposefully oblivious to dance music’s internal politics, he chooses instead to focus on his near evangelical love of house music. His inner beat & inherent rhythm stem from a proud Brazilian birthright. And it is the natural musicality of Ricardo’s Latino roots combined with his penchant for ‘nail to the grindstone’ hard work & the propensity for tearing dance floors to shreds with a self cultivated, distinctive house sound that has earned him well deserved status as one of SA’s true DJ elite.
To witness him rip a dance floor apart with his music, etching an indelible impression whilst instantly unhinging every party animal on it, is proof of his incessant desire to rock the house, thump the beat, pound the bass & shake every damn coconut on the planet!! Heed this warning! There is no warm up DJ on this spin doctor’s club crawl. When at the helm, Ricardo wastes no time in heading straight for the party jugular! Under the masterful manipulation of his fingertips a heat-haze of signature, sex-infused slick funk & tribal grooves are interspersed with seductive, moody vocals & seamlessly laced with dark sounds & tough, dirty slices. His is bassline heavy house & brooding rhythm guaranteed to entice even the shyest wallflower onto his dance floor.
By no means a newcomer to the industry, Ricardo’s ascent began at Azurri Cafe on Johannesburg’s East Rand in 1994, his recognition & draw card status climbing steadily ever since. He has graced the decks of almost every Gauteng nightclub, from Flyhouse, Tramps, Bump & DNA to Therapy, ESP, Nexus, Sudada, Sutra, Truth & countless others. Resident of SA’s largest, outdoor dance event, H20, since its inception in 1998, qualifies Ricardo no stranger to rocking expectant, 10 000-strong crowds to obscene levels! Further afield, his music has caused mayhem in venues all over SA including Cape Town, East London, Port Elizabeth, Ballito, Durban, and Bloemfontein & neighbouring Mozambique. He has held his own alongside a list of International DJ’s too numerous to mention. Most notably, in support of ‘Cyprus Hill’ at Lucky Strike’s infamous underground events, official Jamiroquai Afterparty with Smokin’ Jo, every H20 since the dawn of time & local productions featuring Pete Tong, Judge Jules, Paul van Dyk, Tall Paul, Junior Jack, Kid Crème, the Boogie Pimps & Tim de Luxe. In the last 12 months alone Ricardo has shared billing with Martin Solveig, Sandy Rivera, Simon Dunmore & Jeremy for Defected SA, Erick Morillo & Tiesto at Unity, Paul van Dyk & the D.O.N.S. for Festival Electric, Kiss with Tom Novy, Natural Groove with Brandon Block, Axwell, Rebekah & Milk ‘n Sugar & in support of Sarah Main at Pacha NYE 05/06, Erick Morillo for the Heineken Thirst Event & Voodoo & Serano for the ‘We Love Space Sundays’ Natural Groove Relaunch.
In the early stages, pursuit of his destined career shared centre stage with studies towards a BCom (Marketing). In ‘99, Ricardo was hired as store manager of Mental Groove Records in Bruma Lake. A 5-year stint at Mental Groove immersed him daily in the order, import & trade of vinyl & imparted indispensable knowledge of the music industry. Immediate access to the latest releases & hottest tunes afforded Ricardo an added advantage - the coveted means by which to maintain his elusive DJ edge. In April 2004, Ricardo became Manager of Retro Music & played an integral part in the opening, establishment & success of this Linksfield record store, DJ school & recording studio. In May 2006, Ricardo concluded his 2-year stint with Retro before being appointed Label Manager of Soul Candi Records, a Jhb based outfit responsible for some of SA’s biggest selling, most successful dance compilations to date.
Accredited with an already substantial discography, Ricardo’s commercial pull was established in 2003 through the successful release of no less than 3 compilation albums over an 18-month period, ‘Subliminal SA’, ‘Definitive Sound of Ricardo’ & ‘Ricardo presents Funksensual’. In 2005 Ricardo pushed on to compile & release ‘House Anthems Vol. 1’ for EMI whilst heading up management of Retro Music & maintaining a frenetic weekly DJing schedule. Such immense popularity & high demand for the House Anthems double album series mixed by Ricardo da Costa & Kevin Grenfell resulted in the second instalment, Vol.2 hitting store shelves in April 2006 whilst a third & Ricardo’s final compilation for the series, ‘House Anthems Vol. 3’ is scheduled for a Spring ’06 release. Forthcoming in 2007, Ricardo’s planned introduction of a new compilation series, self-mixed & to be released under the Soul Candi banner.
In 2003 a collaboration with ‘Unathi’ & ‘First Project’ resulted in a track titled ‘the Greatest Invention’’. Well received & prompting numerous local remixes, Ricardo’s first foray on a production front was snapped up & signed to Grooved Records & included in 3 local compilations, ‘Definitive Sounds of Ricardo’, ‘Truth Volume 2’ & ‘Flipside House 4’. In 2004 Ricardo teamed up with Justin V to produce ‘Basement Sessions Vol. 1’, a funky house belter featured on ‘Ricardo presents Funksensual’. Fast forward to present day. Ricardo’s 2005 self produced track ‘Get On Down’ is signed to San Francisco based imprint Om Records, he is commissioned by Om to remix breakthrough artist Samantha James’ first single, ‘Rise’ & anticipation grows for Ricardo’s most recent studio production, an almost completed collaboration between himself, Frankie Martinez & Ryan Murgatroid! 2006 is proving a bumper year of career milestones for the DJ/Producer/Remixer so intent on the attainment of global acclaim.
Ricardo’s residencies with Jhb’s most successful nightclubs including Truth, Sutra, Evolution, Natural Groove & Aruba Lounge paved the way for his international DJ debut, a performance at legendary Dubai nightclub, ‘Oxygen’ in October 2004. Locally, Ricardo is a regular feature on 5FM jock Roger Goode’s weekend dance show ‘the Saturday Surgery. The show commenced airing in 2002 & Ricardo’s residency for 5FM has proven vital in exposing his technical prowess & unforgettable house sound to a vast national listenership. On a corporate level, Ricardo’s growing influence within the local dance scene began to attract interest & acknowledged. In 2005, Ricardo reaped the fruits for his labour, chosen from a shortlist of his peers he was awarded official sponsorship by both Oakley International & Stanton Magnetics. Having served almost a decade on deck duty Ricardo’s hunger for turntable control & absolute dance floor supremacy shows no sign of abating, his fan base ever increasing & more loyal than ever, his career multifaceted & burgeoning. In mid 2006 Ricardo placed himself on the global music map with firm intent by finally launching his website & official online presence, www.ricardodacosta.com.
Unceasingly blazing the trail that is funk, Ricardo’s uncanny musical foresight continues to attract attention locally & stir interest further afield. With his star set firmly in the ascendant, Ricardo has shown that he possesses a tremendous power….... the rare, instinctive talent to mix & manipulate records in a way that makes an entire dance floor fall in love. And it is the key to becoming a truly great DJ!
